The US Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam hosted a Fourth of July celebration featuring key Vietnamese national and local policymakers. With a recently upgraded US-Vietnam bilateral relationship and HCMC granted autonomy in several policy sectors, HCMC is expected to increase subnational economic, educational, and people-to-people ties with the United States.
On June 28, 2024, the US Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) hosted the 248th anniversary of American Independence Day, popularly known as the Fourth of July. The event featured a performance by Sangeeta Kaur, an opera singer who is the first Vietnamese American to receive a Grammy Award for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album. US Ambassador to Vietnam Marc Knapper, who has served since February 2022, and former President of Vietnam Truong Tan Sang were among the distinguished attendees.
The event reflected a trend of increasing US cooperation with Vietnam and HCMC on a variety of issues. US Consul General to HCMC Susan Burns, who has served since September 2022, remarked on the progress of US-Vietnam environmental cooperation, to highlight one avenue of cooperation in particular. Burns applauded Vietnam’s “significant strides in marine protection,” as Vietnam has recently established numerous protected areas, including Phu Quoc Island in the south and Hai Phong City in the north. In March 2024, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) started a $2.9 million project to promote sustainable management of marine resources and reduce illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities in southern Vietnam’s Mekong region. In June 2024, the US Mission to Vietnam, USAID, and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) launched a joint program in the southern provinces of Can Tho and An Giang to detect and prevent climate change-related infectious diseases. The program’s priorities include upgrading primary health infrastructure, expanding telehealth options, and equipping local authorities and health systems to respond to climate-induced public health threats.
Vice Chairman of HCMC People’s Committee Bui Xuan Cuong, who spoke on behalf of the HCMC municipal government, highlighted the key role of US investment in HCMC. As of 2024, the US ranks ninth among the countries with investments in the city with over 500 direct investment projects. The US is also HCMC’s largest trade partner, with exports totaling $97 billion in 2023. HCMC officials have taken opportunities to promote investment in the city with foreign businesses. During the November 2023 APEC Conference in San Francisco, the Chairman of the HCMC People's Committee Phan Van Mai met with nearly thirty major US businesses in the energy, infrastructure, technology, and innovation sectors.
In 2023, Vietnam and the United States upgraded their bilateral relationship to the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) level which ensures stronger cooperation in technology, innovation economy, and people-to-people ties. In the same year, the Vietnamese National Assembly granted HCMC “decentralized” autonomy in municipal policymaking. The announcement of CSP and “decentralization” in HCMC’s governance has encouraged the city to develop economic and diplomatic ties with US partners. San Francisco and HCMC established the first US-Vietnam sister city relationship in 1995 and Vietnam opened its Consulate General in San Francisco’s Polk Gulch neighborhood in 1997. In September 2023, Chairman of the HCMC People’s Committee Phan Van Mai and New York City Mayor Eric Adams signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to establish a sister city relationship. The two largest cities of their respective countries hope to exchange governance experiences on the economy, finance, culture, environment, and education.
The CSP aims to increase education and training between Vietnamese and US institutions. Vietnamese institutions are encouraged to expand partnership opportunities with foreign institutions to develop human resources and improve infrastructure. Several HCMC universities have taken this advantage to establish joint degree programs with diverse US partners. Until 2021, the HCMC University of Technology (Bach Khoa University – BKU) had “2+2” programs where students attend BKU for two years before completing their degrees at the University of Illinois Springfield, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, or the Catholic University of America. The University of Social Sciences and Humanities maintains a similar “2+2” program allowing students to gain degrees from the University of Minnesota Crookston. HCMC is also home to Fulbright University Vietnam (FUV), a liberal arts institution supported by USAID and the Vietnamese government. Several US institutions, such as the University of Hawai'i Shidler College of Business, Florida-based Broward College, or Alabama-based Troy University, operate teaching programs or open satellite campuses in HCMC to support the demand for a foreign education in Vietnam.
When the US Consulate General in HCMC was opened in 1999, then-Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said: “The consulate general marks another important step forward in the relationship between the United States and Vietnam...For in this place - surrounded by reminders of the past - our two countries will be moving resolutely toward the future.” The Fourth of July event is a testament to HCMC’s strong trade, education, sister city, and people-to-people relations with the United States. HCMC will provide a municipal perspective to the Comprehensive Strategic Plan’s priorities in light of the 30th anniversary of US–Vietnam diplomatic relations next year.
Sam Tran is a Summer 2024 Young Professional at the East-West Center in Washington. He graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst with a B.A. in Political Science in May 2024.